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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887581">Cheeky Cherry Tree Farm</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ealasaid/pseuds/Ealasaid'>Ealasaid</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeyourownstory/pseuds/writeyourownstory'>writeyourownstory</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hallmark Channel [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>1917 (Movie 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Inspired by Hallmark Movies, M/M, Mystery, Rare Pairings, Reunions, chatfic, grandpa!Blake, grandpa!Schofield, past Blakefield</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:01:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887581</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ealasaid/pseuds/Ealasaid, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeyourownstory/pseuds/writeyourownstory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rewrite of the Hallmark movie "The Irresistible Blueberry Farm."  </p><p>Benjamin Richards is tasked with tracking down his grandfather William Schofield's best "mate" from his army days to pass on a letter . . . and winds up reconnecting with an old flame.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Joseph Blake/Lieutenant Richards, Tom Blake/William Schofield</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hallmark Channel [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cheeky Cherry Tree Farm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally brainstormed/chatwritten September 20th, 2020!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  We can do the one that's coming up instead?<br/>
The Irresistible Blueberry Farm</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  o.o<br/>
🍓<br/>
but<br/>
🔵?</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  An attorney woman goes to see her dying grandmother, whose last wish is for the chick to go track down her ex fiancé or boyfriend or some shit and give him her grandmother’s last letter (apparently they were close). So attorney woman goes on a journey to find him (he’s a traveler apparently)</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  . . . . . . . huh</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Like I’ve seen this one one time<br/>
She basically hunts the dude down over several states<br/>
Goes to all his favorite spots and can’t seem to find him anywhere<br/>
It’s kinda cute but still cliche<br/>
Oh and apparently her grandmother owned a blueberry farm?<br/>
Wait, I had it so turned around—the grandmother wants her granddaughter to take a letter to the <em>grandmother’s</em> lost love, who the chick needs to track down, but runs into her old flame, and <em>he</em> owns a blueberry farm—like, it’s a dream they once shared, some kind of joke like “someday we’ll own the biggest blueberry farm in the world” or some shit</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong> 🤔<br/>
hmmm . . . . <br/>
why did the old flame and the protag not work out the first time?</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Eh they were just young I think?</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  oooo so this is like ten years later</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Yeah and she’s a big shot attorney now so she just got busy with her career</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  okay it's Ben and Joe</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  YES BEN AND JOE</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  okay so Ben is obviously the lawyer<br/>
a sexy, sexy and rich lawyer<br/>
he is VERY successful and it's all lovely<br/>
(how weird do we want to get?)<br/>
okay, we're going weird anyway<br/>
his maternal grandfather calls him in <strike>on his deathbed</strike> <em>[editor note: turns out he's just in a home]</em><em>,</em> etc etc. -- wants him to look for his best mate from when they were in the army together. Grandpa Schofield has specifically asked his grandson Benjamin to track down Tom Blake because a) Ben has loads of resources and b) Benjamin dated some blokes before, so Grandpa knows he won't freak out so much because this is, erm, his <em>best</em> mate from the army.<br/>
and Benjamin is like "WOW OKAY GRANDPA, GUESS ALL THE SKELETONS ARE COMING OUT NOW but yeah sure"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  YESSSSSSS<br/>
Sco and Tom as <em>grandpas</em> YES</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  and well -- Blake is a common last name<br/>
so Ben's mostly like "huh, what a coincidence, I think I dated someone with that name once" but internally, not externally</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 😏</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  so he starts looking around on the weekends<br/>
goes to the places Grandpa Scho mentions<br/>
no luck!</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  (Ugh just the fact that grandpa Sco and grandpa Tom were lovers just has me 😭🥰)</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  (nothing like that yearn for sweet, sweet love that has been since lost)<br/>
So then Ben goes where Will mentioned he thought the Blakes lived and . . . there actually is a farm?<br/>
So Ben gets out of the car and is like "huh."  He was NOT expecting there to be a farm<br/>
and honestly he's starting to doubt Grandpa Schofield a little bit but like.  It's for a good cause<br/>
goes up to the front door and knocks and -- wait a minute, Benjamin knows this guy!<br/>
"Joseph? Blake?" he says, totally incredulous.  --But that face is unforgettable, that's for sure!<br/>
Joseph squints at him and after a minute is all " . . . Benjamin Richards?"<br/>
There's a few minutes where Ben's just like "wow, huh, wasn't expecting to run into <em>you" </em>and Joseph's like "I mean, <em>you're</em> the one who showed up on my doorstep . . . "</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> <strong>👏</strong><strong>👏</strong><strong>👏</strong><strong>👏</strong><strong>👏</strong><br/>
Yes yes yesssssss<br/>
And is it a blueberry farm or a cherry farm?</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br/>
cherry farm, but Joseph has several blueberry bushes out back<br/>
Benjamin mentioned liking them once . . . maybe someone made blueberry pancakes?<br/>
🤔<br/>
bears thinking on, but later!<br/>
So they have a minute where they're like looking each other over and Benjamin's just thinking . . . "huh, he is <em>fit"</em></p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 😏</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  but you know, that's not what he's here for!  He's here for Grandpa Schofield.<br/>
Joseph invites him in for some tea.  It's clear he's not exactly living alone, this is a family home of some flavor, but it's just Joseph at the moment. <br/>
Benjamin is shown to the sitting room because courtesy; then Joseph brings out tea for them both and Benjamin gets to the point.<br/>
he's like "this is going to sound awfully strange, but I'm looking for a Thomas Blake who owned a farm in this area like, forty years ago or something"<br/>
and Joseph snorts on his tea and he's like "Oh, he's upstairs"<br/>
Benjamin's like "what?? you're shitting me"<br/>
he's been looking for this guy for close to a month now, he was starting to think he'd never find Grandpa Schofield's friend!<br/>
Joseph's like "yeah, he's my granddad"<br/>
"he's taking his afternoon nap or I'd go get him"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 🙌🙌🙌🙌<br/>
GRANDPA TOM</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  and Benjamin is just like "HUH" and then is like "uh, if it's not too much trouble, may I meet him?"<br/>
and Joseph is obviously just like <em>?????? WHY</em> but instead he says "well I don't see why not? he's usually up and about in another hour"<br/>
so anyway, during that hour, they chat and get all caught up<br/>
hmm let's say they like, had a couple of dates and maybe more than a few one-night stands, but it was just a really casual thing.  and then they drifted apart. so no real messy breakups or anything<br/>
so Joseph's just talking about how yeah, he's home, and helping with the family farm and stuff<br/>
Benjamin's all oh, yeah, he's a successful lawyer, etc etc<br/>
but the entire time, Benjamin is just <em>struck</em> by how -- well, Joseph was kind of gangly back at uni, but <em>now</em> he's like.  filled out.</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 😏😏😏😏</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  and is, um. Definitely a man at this point!<br/>
which is<br/>
very<br/>
<em>very</em><br/>
easy on the eyes 😏</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Fuck yeah he is<br/>
All that work on the farm has gotten him <em>real</em> fit</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  ^^^<br/>
Benjamin legit has to rein himself in from not just blatantly eye-fucking the guy because sure Joseph is absolutely ticking all Benjamin's boxes, but Benjamin is <em>not here to seduce his grandfather's old boyfriend's grandson</em><br/>
(though the longer he resists, the more blatantly <em>Joseph</em> is looking him over and this is <em>not fair</em>)</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Omg that sentence<br/>
“He’s not here to seduce his grandfather’s old boyfriend’s grandson” <strong>👏</strong>😂😂😂😂😂</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  HE ISN'T but oh my <em>God</em> is he tempted<br/>
and it looks like Joseph is tempted too 😏<br/>
. . . yeah, Benjamin is <em>not</em> subtle when he casually is all "Oh, I would've thought you'd have settled down by now, Joseph"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> (In true hallmark fashion “he’s just waiting on that perfect someone”) 😂</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  ^^^<br/>
Joseph just shrugs a bit and is like "ah, I've got time for that yet" -- and then just sort of gives Benjamin this considering look<br/>
Benjamin, internally: <em>"wow yeah so when is your grandfather waking up? I want to take you out to dinner or like, for breakfast"</em><br/>
<br/>
^^^ that's Benjamin at this point<br/>
because MAN why didn't he stick around with Joseph longer? Benjamin knows that's about the time he got super busy as a lawyer but this man is like. <em>Wow.</em><br/>
Granddad Tom comes down right about the time they've just started blatantly flirting with each other.  The first thing Benjamin notices is that Granddad Tom is fucking spry and looks like he's 10 years younger than he actually is, easily.<br/>
Joseph recalls himself and introduces them with "Hey Granddad, this is Benjamin Richards -- met him in uni"<br/>
and Granddad Tom just appraises Benjamin frankly and then gives Joseph this <em>look</em><br/>
like 😏</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 😂😂😂<br/>
Omg <em>Tom</em></p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  and Benjamin is <em>very</em> interested to see Joseph sort of flush a bit bUT as delectable as that would be to observe, Benjamin is here to do something else, so he's like "pleasure to meet you!" and shakes hands and stuff<br/>
says "I'm very sorry to drop in on you sir, but I was wondering by chance if you knew a William Schofield? from the army?"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 🦑</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  and Tom Blake sort of blinks a little <em>but</em><br/>
Benjamin <em>sees</em> his gaze sharpen up quite a bit, even though he's hiding it with a smile, and then he says "might've yeah, quite a bit ago"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 😆</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  "knew quite a few Wills back then"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Omfg <em>TOM</em></p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  And you know what?  It's not like Benjamin knows Grandpa Schofield that well, but like.  This?  This.  This is . . . yeah, he can see the appeal. So Benjamin pulls out the letter and is like "Well a few weeks ago, my grandfather asked me if I couldn't track down an old chum of his from the army for him and give him this"</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 👀</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  and adds, a bit apologetically, "he's at a home now or he'd have done it himself I think"<br/>
Blake takes it and looks at the handwriting and he's not smiling at all, really, and Benjamin can't quite tell what his expression means.<br/>
(Joseph is looking at both of them like, sensing that there's something up.)<br/>
Blake clears his throat and says, "here Joe, go show him the orchard.  I'll read this while you're out, go on --"<br/>
Of course, when they get outside, Joseph is like "wait so what's going on in there?" and Benjamin kiiiinda doesn't want to explain because, um, it's sort of Grandpa Schofield's and Blake's business.  Obviously, in the end, Tom Blake got married and had children of his own, just like Grandpa Schofield.<br/>
So Ben just says, "Uh, I'm not really sure I can explain it -- I'd ask your granddad though"<br/>
Joseph: 🙄</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> (I can just see Tom smiling and crying while he reads Will’s letter 😭😭😭)</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  (😭^^^^)<br/>
Ben distracts Joseph magnificently by saying "so you have a cherry orchard, right? don't suppose I could try some?" and Joseph's like "oh my God, man, they aren't in season"<br/>
which, good God.  Gets him on a <em>roll</em><br/>
About halfway through Joseph ranting about cherry types, Benjamin gives up and is just like "what even" and Joseph is a;ll "IT MATTERS . . . okay it doesn't really matter, but still!"<br/>
something something "the cider industry is booming, cherries are important for the specialty varieties!"<br/>
and Ben's like "good Lord okay, okay! tell you what -- let's get a pint at the pub, you can convince me that way"<br/>
anyway!  Long story short they go back to the house.  Granddad Tom is struggling not to cry while he thanks Benjamin, and invites him back over any time.<br/>
Joseph and Benjamin go out to the pub and yeah, they toooooooootally bang that night.</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  FUCK YEAH THEY DO<br/>
Tom: “That sexual tension is thick enough to cut with a knife THEY BETTER BANG”<br/>
😂</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  RIGHT<br/>
and <em>oh boy</em><br/>
Joseph is <em>definitely a man</em><br/>
😏</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong> 😂😂😂<br/>
Oh that was WAY BETTER THAN THE ACTUAL MOVIE<br/>
Does Tom get I’m contact with Will cause I gotta know!</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  😂 💗<br/>
hmmmm probably! I imagine he shanghais Joseph into driving him to go visit Will</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  <em>yesssssssss</em><br/>
Cause old people get together in hallmark movies all the time—can’t have just the young-ins gettin together 😂<br/>
(Also the grandma gets back with her lost live so the bill fits)</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  oho!<br/>
<em>get it, Grandma</em><br/>
😏</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Hey most of the hallmark watchers are old people 🤷 ie my grandmother 😂</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  GO GRANDMA GO</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  But the question <em>is</em>—when Ben goes back to the city does he keep in touch with joe and they have a long distance relationship where they bus back and forth to each other—or does Ben give up his life in the city to become a small town attorney after Tom and Will get married? 😂<br/>
And make a life with Joe on the farm?</p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  HUH<br/>
well if it's England, he can both a big-city lawyer living in a small-town<br/>
sooooooooooooooo<br/>
maybe it starts with Joseph showing up at his law firm when Benjamin's texting about having a lunch break with like, snacks or something</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  Oooooooooo<br/>
<em>yesss</em></p><p><strong>Lt. Richards is bae:</strong>  (after a few visits, this quickly turns into sex lunch breaks)<br/>
(at least once, <span class="spoilerText-3p6IlD"><span class="inlineContent-3ZjPuv">Joseph casually blows Benjamin under the desk when an untimely phone-call interrupts their make-out session and nearly makes Benjamin choke on his own tongue</span></span>)<br/>
🤔 yeah, this particular hallmark AU couple is just for the sexiness</p><p><strong>butler is boo:</strong>  <em>fans self</em><br/>
Oh boy<br/>
Oh boy YES IT IS</p>
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